Roots of Visigoths
Visigoths
belonged to the mighty barbarian Goths that toppled down the invincibility of
Rome in 410. Barbarians then carved out kingdoms for themselves. After their
successful sacking of Rome, Goths too established kingdoms, one particular
group that became known as Visigoths called the lands in Southern Gaul (modern
day France) and Hispania (modern day Spain) their own under the leadership of
Ataulf in 412.
The
Visigoths, however, faced numerous rivals in Hispania. The Suebi in the eastern
part of the Peninsula and the Vandals in the central lands. Basques also roamed
the northern regions. Alans occupied Lusitania (modern day Portugal) and
Carthaginiensis. Vestiges of Roman populace also remained in the region of
Tarraconensis. In this diverse peninsula the Visigoths had to compete for
survival, power, and domination.
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| King Euric in the National Library of Spain |
Soon
enough, they shared Roman values of order and legalism and developed their own
laws like the Codex Euricianus.
Written in Latin, it stated the personal law of Visigoths and cemented the
absolute power of the Visigoth monarchs.
Thou,
Visigoth kings had absolute power, Kings came to power not through heritage but
through election by an assembly of Visigoth nobles.
During
Alaric II’s reign, the Visigoths looked into a major turning point in their
history. The Kingdom suddenly faced a tough rival in Gaul in form of the
Franks. Frankish King Clovis’ army marched against the Visigoths in 507 and in
the Battle of Vouille, King Alaric loss and all their lands north of the
Pyrenees, along with their capital in Toulouse, fell to the new Frankish
Empire. Ever since then, the Visigoths concentrated their strengths in the
Iberian Peninsula.
Visigoth Kingdom of
Hispania
After
the fall of Toulouse to the Franks, the Visigoths moved to Hispania and
established a new capital in Toledo. Still, the Visigoths had a lot of
adversaries in the region. As stated before, Suebis, Alans, Vandals, Basque and
an emerging aggressive Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantines aspired to reclaim
the lands of the Western Roman Empire.
In
addition to other barbarian groups, the Hispano-Romans living in Hispania and
Visigoths mistrust each other due to religious difference. Visigoths, thou
Christians, believed in Arianism which disregarded the Holy Trinity that the
Catholic Hispano-Romans followed. 200,000 Visigoths persecuted the 6 million
Hispano-Roman. As a result, the Hipano-Romans huge numbers and their call for
Byzantine liberation loomed as a threat to the Visigoth’s rule.
Visigoth
authority strengthened during the reign of King Leovigild from 568 to 586. This
ruthless and energetic ruler asserted Visigoth control over the whole of
Peninsula, subduing the Suebi, Alans, and Basque. He also put a stop in the
advance of the Byzantines in the South. Luckily for him, the Vandals posed no
much threat anymore as they moved to Northern Africa. He also cemented his
authority by adopting Roman symbols of rule such as a throne and a crown.
During his reign too, the Visigoths pushed strongly the spread of Arianism,
forcing Jews and Catholics to convert in threat of pains of slavery.
His
conversion policy, however, met strong opposition within his family. During his
campaigns to bring down rival powers in the region. His son Hermenegild who
converted to Catholicism rebelled and took the city of Seville. His rebellion
lasted from 579 to 585, ending only after Leovigild successfully finished his
campaign against the Suebi Kingdom of Galicia.
Catholic Visigoths
Following
Leovigild’s death in 586, his son Recared got elected by the Visigoth nobles
and reigned from 586 to 601. The rebellion of Hermenegild showed the strength
of Catholic evangelization in the Peninsula and Recared accepted it and
converted to Catholicism in 587. In 589, he supported the convening of the religious
synod 3rd Council of Toledo where they denounced Arianism. The decades of
mistrust between Visigoths and the large Hispano-Roman people suddenly disappeared,
turning them into loyal subjects at the expense of support for a Byzantine
invasion.
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| Conversion of Reccared to Catholicism by Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1888) |
With
much of their rivals gone, Visigoth Kings consolidated power. Due to the
elective nature of Kingship, factions tried to vie for power thru
assassination. Numerous Kings fell to assassin’s blade and became a main issue.
Christian bishops helped in making the government stable by practicing the
anointment of Kings starting with King Sisenand (r. 631 – 636). In this manner,
they made the King a divine authority, hence his assassination a capital sin.
Bishops
took an important position in society. Their Council of Toledo began to meet
regularly and sometimes voiced concerns to the King through tomus regius. They also began to be
involved in the election of Kings, becoming a powerful sector of Visigoth
society. But their involvement in politics caused them to be politicized and even
lose their independent position to Kings.
Among
the ranks of bishop too, scholasticism gave rise to new works. Most
importantly, St. Isidore of Seville wrote on the history of the Suebis,
Vandals, and Visigoths in Spain as well as the Etymologiae, an encyclopedia regarding classical works from
antiquity, a feat important for the preservation of the past in an era of chaos
and indifference to ancient learnings.
Roman Culture in
Visigoth Spain
Roman
culture surprisingly continued through the Visigoths, mainly in government and
law. A large Hispano-Roman population contributed to the survival of Roman
traditions. Visigoth Kings welcomed the adoption of some traditions too.
During
the reign of King Chindasuinth (r. 642 – 653), the Officium Palatinum (Royal Household Office) was established based
on Roman practices. It assisted the King in administering the country by using
nobles and magnates as staffs rather than slaves or eunuchs.
In
654, King Recceswith (649 – 672) expanded the Breviarium Alariciarum, combining the elements of Roman and Gothic
laws.
Decline of Visigoth
Spain
The
decline of the Visigoth Kingdom of Spain began with the reign of King Wamba
(672 – 680). His reign, however, ended badly when his enemies forced him out of
the throne and became a monk in the end.
Due
to the nature of his rise, King Erwig who plotted Wamba’s demise from power
fought to cement his rule through assemblies of nobles, calling 3 large
Councils in Toledo. One way to deflect attention, the King presided over
stronger persecution of Jews, calling them cancer that had to be wiped out.
Persecution of Jews continued with his successors. This led to the resentment
of the Jews which later helped in the fall of the Visigoths in the 710.
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| Umayyad Caliphate in the Mediterranean Sea |
Summing Up
Visigoth
Spain saw the survival of some vestiges of Roman culture – especially in law
and government. They also contributed to the enrooting of Catholicism in the
Peninsula. Visigoths showed how one small barbarian tribe transformed into
kingdoms that gave order even thou briefly or somehow. Although their tradition
of elected kings seemed incredibly democratic in an age of dynasties, this
became the weakness of the Kingdom to disintegrate and finally fell to the
hands of aggressive empire builders.
See also:
Bibliography:
Books:
Chapman, Charles. A History of Spain. New York, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1918.
Fouracre, Paul. The New Cambridge Medieval History v. 1.
General References:
"Euric." In A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Edited by Matthew Bunson. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
"Wallia" In A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Edited by Matthew Bunson. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Websites:
"Visigoths." In Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on December 2, 2017. URL: http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/ancient-greece-and-rome/ancient-history-late-roman-and-byzantine/visigoths
O'Callaghan, Joseph et. al. "Spain." In Encyclopedia Britannia. Accessed December 2, 2017. URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain/The-Visigothic-kingdom
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